ABSTRACT
White Paintings shelter in the Tsodilo Hills of Northwestern Botswana (Figure 1) has been the site of intense archaeological investigations and is notable for the depth and age-span of its archaeological record (Robbins et al., 2000). The sequence includes Historic through Middle Stone Age cultural materials, extending to a depth of 7 meters, and to an age of around 100/120 ka. The sequence features some of the earliest evidence for fresh water fishing, ornament production, and other activities in the Kalahari and in Southern Africa. The sedimentary record of the site is valuable in suggesting distinct variations in local palaeoenvironment. However, problems with the site’s chronology have obfuscated interpretation of portions of the archaeological and sedimentary record. In an effort to resolve some of the dating issues nine additional samples were collected from a single vertical profile for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) analysis. Here we present new dates and a clarified chronology for the site. We also examine selected physical and chemical properties of the sedimentary units at the site in order to reconstruct site formation processes and temporal changes in environmental conditions.
